McHenry mayor: Low

Voters in the city of McHenry are prepared for a close race as two candidates with mayoral experience vie to be the city’s mayor for the next four years.

Incumbent Sue Low has served as McHenry’s mayor for the past 10 years, starting when she was appointed in 2003 by the City Council to take over the remainder of Pam Althoff’s term. Althoff is now a state senator, and Low went on to re-election twice.

Steven Cuda, an attorney, was McHenry’s mayor from 1993 to 2001, after serving on the McHenry District 156 Board of Education from 1983-93.

A retired special education teacher, Low served as alderman for McHenry’s Ward 3 before being elected mayor. She has helped to keep McHenry’s budget balanced, and supported freezing the city’s property-tax levy the past three years.

She says that her focus is on economic development, downtown revitalization and improving the quality of life in McHenry.

During her state of the city address, Low highlighted the police department’s partnership with schools on safety, a dog park set to open this summer, commercial growth activity, and a major road construction project.

Cuda says that his top priority is business retention, pointing to McHenry’s loss of $1 million annually in sales-tax revenue from Walmart moving to Johnsburg. He promises to, if elected, personally meet with every business owner along the north Route 31 and west Route 120 commercial corridors.

We recommend Low.

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